Student Academic Services
Intended Learning Outcomes
What are Intended Learning Outcomes?
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) define what a
learner will have acquired and will be able to do
upon successfully completing their studies. ILOs
are expressed from the students’ perspective and
are measurable, achievable and assessable.
Why should we write Intended Learning
Outcomes?
ILOs are the cornerstone of every session,
course, programme, module, or unit of study.
ILOs allow learners to see what they are aiming
for at all times and the value of the appropriately
aligned assessments.
The Quality Assurance Agency Understanding
Assessment guide (2011) illustrates the
relationship between ILOs, assessment and
learning activities/resources and the order in
which they should be considered,
“Stage 1: Decide on the intended learning
outcomes. What should the students be able to
do on completion of the course (and what
underpinning knowledge and
understanding will they need in order to do it)
that they could not do when they started?
Stage 2: Devise the assessment task(s). If you
have written precise learning outcomes
this should be easy because the assessment
should be whether or not they can satisfactorily
demonstrate achievement of the outcomes.
Stage 3: Devise the learning activities necessary
(including formative assessment tasks) to enable
the students to satisfactorily undertake the
assessment task(s).
These stages should be conducted iteratively,
with each stage informing the others to ensure
coherence.”
This approach is called constructive alignment.
Author: Nichola Hayes
There are a lot of references for constructive
alignment, but the work of Prof. John Biggs
provides a good overview of its value.
http://youtu.be/iMZA80XpP6Y [Part of
theTeaching Teaching & Understanding
Understanding series – video length: 8 mins]
It is due to educational theorists such as Biggs
and the Quality Assurance Agency that ILOs are a
key element of any HEI programme of study. The
Quality Code for Higher Education (2012) ensures
equality and parity across the UK HE sector and
Part B stipulates HEIs must demonstrate:
“Learning and teaching activities and associated
resources provide every student with an equal
and effective opportunity to achieve the intended
learning outcomes.”
How to write Intended Learning Outcomes?
Intended Learning Outcomes should be written
using what is often referred to as, active verbs
(something students can do to demonstrate the
results of their learning).
In this context passive verbs would be
‘appreciate’ or ‘show awareness’ – they make it
difficult for the student to understand what is
needed; and difficult for staff to assess.
A commonly seen passive verb used for writing
ILOs is ‘understand’. The UoL Learning and
Teaching website highlights the pitfalls of using
‘understand’.
“...take the following example:
Understand how to drive a car.
This could mean several different things.
•
Move, steer and stop a car.
•
Understand the mechanics of how to
drive a car but not actually be able to
drive one.”
Consider the first of these,
Move, steer and stop a car.
5 February 2013
In order to measure/observe how well the
learner can do these things we can use active
verbs to write the following ILOs:
Labour Market Studies
Analyse and critique theories of workplace and
work-related learning
Reproduce the manoeuvres required to
perform a three-point turn safely.
Discuss the stopping distances required
when driving a car at 30mph, 50mph and
70mph.
Biological Sciences
Explain how chromosomes are inherited through
mitosis and meiosis and how genetic variation is
generated
Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives is a
good starting point for developing learning
outcomes. The taxonomy identifies six different
levels of learning: knowledge, comprehension,
application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
There are several resources that list the active
verbs you might consider for each of Bloom’s
levels of learning. For example,
 Can your ILOs be measured/observed?
 Are all of your ILOs addressed by your
assessments?
 Can the learner achieve ALL of the ILOs?
•
•
Level of Learning
Knowledge
Active Verbs
• Define
• Reproduce
• Arrange
Comprehension
•
•
•
Discuss
Explain
Classify
Application
•
•
•
Demonstrate
Operate
Solve
Analysis
•
•
•
Differentiate
Analyse
Calculate
•
•
•
Predict
Assess
Construct
•
•
•
Assess
Critique
Predict
Synthesis
Evaluation
Measurable/Observable ILO Examples
Archaeology
Demonstrate a knowledge of basic Greek
grammar and syntax
Mathematics
Construct basic VBA computer programs for the
numerical solution of basic problems
Intended Learning Outcomes - Quick Check
References & Resources
Biggs, J. & Tang, C., 2007. Teaching for Quality Learning at
rd
University (3 ed.), Buckingham: Society for Research into
Higher Education/ Open University Press. [eBook available
from UoL Library]
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. 2012. B3:
Learning and teaching Quality Code for Higher Education.
[online] Available at:
<http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidan
ce/Documents/Quality-Code-B3.pdf> [Accessed 03 February
2013]
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. 2011.
Understanding assessment: its role in safeguarding
academic standards and quality in higher education. [online]
Available at:
<http://www.qaa.ac.uk/Publications/InformationAndGuidan
ce/Documents/UnderstandingAssessment.pdf> [Accessed 03
February 2013]
University of Leicester. Learning and Teaching. [online]
Available at:
<http://www.le.ac.uk/teaching/learningoutcomesunderstan
d.html> [Accessed 03 February 2013]
Cox, D. & Matthews, L., 2010. PGCert Module A Handout.
University of Leicester.
Bloom’s Taxonomy - Active Verb Lists
http://www.indstate.edu/academicaffairs/assessment/isu_a
ssessment_handbook/verbs_for_writing_student_learning_
outcomes.pdf
http://apps.medialab.uwindsor.ca/ctl/downloads/2007/Geri
%20Van%20Gyn%20%20Verbs%20for%20Learning%20Outcomes.pdf
ILO Guides
Race, P. How to Design Learning Outcomes. [online]
Available at:
<http://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/pd/newi_mod3/mod3/papers/
Race%20Designing%20LO.pdf > [Accessed 03 February 2013]
Baume, D. (2009) Writing and Using Good Learning
Outcomes. [online] Available at:
http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/staff/files/Learning_Outcomes.
pdf [Accessed 03 February 2013]